The Search for Heero
by Destiny Lockheart
Summary: RelenaxHeero, HYxRP, 1xR, you get the picture... Heero gets lost in a snowstorm and its up to Relena and her friends to find and rescue him. Not for the sane...
1. Heero gets lost in a snowstorm...

The Search for Heero

by Destiny Lockheart

Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing or anything associated with it. I do however own any OC's and TW and the horses. Enjoy the show!

Authoress' Notes: This is a humor fic with undertones of romance... primarily Heero and Relena.

Chapter 1: The baka gets lost in a snowstorm

Relena was walking alone through the forest, listening to the soft snow crunch under her feet. She loved Heero dearly, but sometimes she just needed to go out on her own. He understood perfectly. He told her that once in a while, the other Gundam pilots and their girlfriends drove him to the point where he wanted to kill one or all of them, so he would go out for a walk. Relena wasn't driven to the point where she wanted to kill someone, but she did need to get away from them. She looked up through the trees at the sky and saw some ominous dark clouds gathering. "Looks like we'll get snow. I should be getting back." She turned and headed back towards the Peacecraft Estate. 

&-&-&-&

Erica and Duo came back into the house, stomping their feet to get the snow off their boots. "Brrrrrr. It sure is cold out there," Duo said, putting an arm around Erica and leading her to the couch. Heero was staring out the window facing the woods. Quatre and Samantha were snuggled up in front of the fire. Zechs and Noin occupied the other half of the couch and Wufei and Johanna were sitting on a big fluffy arm chair. 

"What's with him?" Erica asked, indicating the silent Heero. 

"He's just worried about Relena," Quatre told her, pulling Samantha closer to him. 

"What," Duo asked, "and the obsessive big brother isn't doing anything about it?"

It is then that we realize Zechs is gagged and tied to the couch. "Zechs isn't in a talking mood right now," Noin told them.

Duo and Erica both blinked. "I can see that." Erica cleared her throat. "Anyway, the horses have been taken care of and TW is locked in the basement. It looks like a blizzard's headed this way."

Heero finally decided to speak up and turned from the window. "Yeah, and Relena's still out there."

"Don't worry," Erica said in a Russian accent. "She's a big girl and can take care of herself."

Everyone in the room looked at her strangely. "Babe, what's with the accent?" Duo asked. 

She shrugged. "I thought it would make me sound more like a mob leader and less like a captain of a group of lazy mercs." She glared at her highest ranking officers, Samantha and Johanna. 

"Hey," Samantha protested, "we're not lazy!"

"I'm not," Johanna said, "but you are." She pointed to Sam. 

"This isn't fair." Sam pouted and Quatre gave her a kiss. "Thank you, sweetie." 

"I don't like Relena being out there all alone before a storm," Heero said, grabbing his coat and putting it on. "I'll be back with Relena," he said, walking out the door.

Wufei shook his head. "He's an idiot." About three-fourths of the people in the room nodded their heads in agreement. 

Heero walked outside just as the snow began to fall. It was freezing out there. He jogged off in the direction of the stables, hoping he would find Relena soon.

&-&-&-&

Five minutes later, Relena joined the crowd in the living room. "Hey, Relena," Samantha greeted her. 

Relena sat down on a chair. "Hey, everyone." 

"Where's Heero?" Duo asked, expecting at any minute to see the baka show up.

"I don't know. I thought he'd be here with you."

"But he just went out looking for you," Quatre said, looking to Sam for confirmation. She nodded.

"All right, Thundercats," Erica said, standing up. "We have a former Gundam pilot lost in an oncoming blizzard. We must take Relena and our boyfriends to save him. Is that clear?"

"Sir, yes sir!" Johanna and Sam said, saluting. They both started laughing.

Erica rolled her eyes. "Real mature, guys." 

"Captain," Johanna said, "since there is a risk of death involved, I suggested one of us stays behind to carry on the Thundercats' name. I nominate me."

Wufei stood up. "I second that nomination."

Erica started mumbling about wussy medical officers. "Okay, Sam, Quatre, Relena, Duo, let's move out."

"Erica, shouldn't you bring your dog along?" Relena suggested.

"Good idea! He'll finally be good for something. We'll meet you at the stables." She pulled on Duo's braid. "Let's go, baka." 

"Do I have to?" he whined.

"Yes." She pulled harder on his braid and started dragging him away. The other members of the party headed to the stables. 

"Was this really such a good idea?" Wufei whispered to Johanna, glancing over at Zechs and Noin.

&-&-&-&

Relena, Quatre and Sam made their way carefully towards the stables. The snow was really coming down now and visibility was beginning to become limited. Quatre got there first and held the door open for the two ladies. 

"Okay," Samantha said once they were all safely inside. "This is a Thundercat operation and since the good captain Erica is currently not here, I'm in charge." She looked at the other two. "Any questions?" They both shook their heads no. "First off, the distribution of horses." 

"I think I should take Zero and Beauty," Relena said. Zero was Heero's wild white Thoroughbred stallion and Beauty was Relena's Palomino mare. 

"Okay," Sam said nodding. "I'll take Sand. Quatre, will you take Silence?" 

Quatre nodded. Sand was his and Sam's tan Arabian gelding. Silence was a chestnut mare that Erica had confiscated off of Trowa after she discovered the stable hand, George, had traumatized the poor horse. 

Relena added, "Erica will want to take Scythe and Duo will probably want to use Nightwalker." Scythe was Erica's Friesian mare and Nightwalker was Duo's Friesian stallion. Scythe was the more intelligent of the two by far; exactly like the couple that owned them. "We should get them ready too." Quatre nodded in agreement and Sam pouted. 

&-&-&-&

"Why do we have to bring the wolf along?" Duo whined. Erica gave him a 'don't-whine' look. "That dog'll try to chew my braid again." 

Erica shrugged as she opened the door. "Maybe you should cut your hair then." Duo pouted. "TW!" Erica called down the steps. "Come here, boy!" Erica's "dog" came bounding up the stairs. TW reached the landing and began barking loudly. He actually was a wolf, with an odd taste for male hair. "Good boy," Erica said, patting him on the head. 

"Why do we need him again?" Duo asked. 

Erica rolled her eyes. "He's going to help us find Heero, Baka," she told him. She turned her attention back to the dog. "Are you ready for your first mission?" TW sat down and barked once. Duo looked utterly amazed. "Let's go, soldiers," Erica ordered, jogging off. TW barked and followed her. Duo followed after them, still in shock. 

&-&-&-&

In the stables, Relena, Quatre, and Samantha had all the horses tacked and ready to go. "They better not have stopped somewhere to make out," Relena muttered, watching the stable door. 

"Nah," Sam said, actually defending her friend for once. "Erica make act like a goof but when it comes to a mission, she's totally professional." 

Relena and Quatre both nodded, not believing her for a second. The door opened and TW came in first, followed by Erica and Duo. "They're here. What took you so long?" 

"Visibility is down to ten feet, or something like that," Erica told them bluntly. "I didn't measure." Everyone else groaned. 

"Does that mean we have to leave Heero out there?" Relena asked, clearly worried. 

Erica shrugged. "Sorry, but a captain never intentionally risks the lives of her squad." 

"Don't worry," Quatre said, putting a reassuring hand on Relena's shoulder. "As soon as the snow lets up, we'll go looking for him." 

Relena smiled. "I'm sure he'll be fine for now. 

&-&-&-&

Meanwhile, Heero was hopelessly lost traveling through the woods. He could barely see, yet he persisted in his search. But the snow became too much for even him, and eventually, he took shelter in a small cave to wait for the storm to pass. 


	2. The Search Begins....

Search For Heero

Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing, only Duo and Zechs. *Watched in horror as thousands of lawyers charge her* Okay, I don't own them either. *Lawyers grumble as they go searching for another lawsuit* Whew! That was close. Enjoy the show folks!

Warning: Not for the sane or anti-OC. You see, without the OC, this fic would be for the sane... and we don't want that. 

Sometime during the storm, Relena, Quatre and Duo had all fallen asleep on the soft straw. It was just so comfortable, they couldn't resist taking a quick nap. TW chewed contently on Duo's braid. "The snow's stopped," Erica told Sam. 

She nodded. "That's good. Now we can go find that baka who decided to go out into a snowstorm by himself."

Erica nodded back at her. "You wake Relena and Quatre. I'll wake Duo," she said with a malicious grin. 

Samantha went over to Quatre and kissed him. "That's my kind of wake-up call," he said sitting up. "Is it time to go find Heero?"

Sam nodded and went over to Relena, shaking her gently by the shoulder. "'Lena, wake up. It's time to go rescue your stupid boyfriend." 

Waking up instantly, Relena started getting ready. "Heero," she whispered, bound and determined to find him. 

"Hey," Erica whistled. Everyone turned to look in her direction. She was standing beside Duo, who was still sound asleep. "I'm now going to give a presentation on how to wake a sleeping baka. First, get a really big wolf with a taste for human hair." She pointed to TW. "Then tell him 'TW, pull that baka's braid!' Try it."

"TW, pull that baka's braid!" they all yelled in something that wasn't quite unison but it was so close it was scary. TW jumped to his feet and began to pull fiercely on Duo's braid. Everyone started laughing.

"Owwwwwwweeeeeeeee!" Duo yelled, jumping to his feet, pulling his braid out of TW's mouth. He inspected the damaged hair. "My hair, my beautiful hair," he sobbed. 

"Nobody cares," Sam said, walking towards Sand. "Let's move out! Heero's obviously not finding himself."

"Wait, safety first," Erica said, holding up a rope. She tied one end around TW's collar, gave enough slack for her to lead him from her horse before handing it to Duo. "Make sure you leave enough room between you and the person in front of you. Remember, we're riding horses." Duo handed it to Quatre, who handed it to Sam, who gave it to Relena, who tied the last bit to Zero's bridle. "Good. Now, it anyone drops it, they shall face the wrath of my whip." Everyone gulped as she mounted. "Mount up." They all mounted their particular horses. "Now, to repeat Sam's earlier statement, 'Let's move out!'"

They made their way into the woods, but they weren't making very good time. The horses were having difficulty going through the deep snow. That and the fact that they had no clue which way Heero went and TW wasn't helping much. After riding for quite a while.... 

"I'm lonely for, crazy for, I adore you-ou!"

"Duo, shut up!" Erica pulled on his braid while everyone else gave a quick prayer thanking God. Duo was completely tone-deaf. "You're scaring the animals!"

&-&-&-&

About two hundred feet away, Heero woke up in his little cave. He heard a strange noise coming through the woods that sounded vaguely like a dying Ogre. Not wanting to run into any Ogres (dying or not) he went running the other way. 

&-&-&-&

"Heeeeeerrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrroooooooooooooo!" Relena called for about the fiftieth time.

Erica looked up at the darkening sky. "Damn, it's getting dark. We should probably be going back."

"Are you saying we should just leave Heero out here, all alone in the cold and dark?" Relena asked angrily, causing Erica to wince.

Quatre spoke up in her defense. "She's right for once. We can't stay out here searching all night. Heero will be fine for a couple of days."

"A couple of days!" Relena protested. "He may freeze before then!" Now it was Quatre's turn to wince.

"Everyone, calm down," Duo suggested. They all turned to glare at him. "You were scaring me."

Sam scooped some snow off a nearby tree branch and threw it at him. The snowball hit him in the side of the head, causing him to lose his balance, therefore resulting in him falling off his horse. Scythe snorted. "How do you get your animals to be so animated?" Quatre asked curiously. 

"It's just their lively personality showing through," Erica said, rubbing the side of of Scythe's neck. 

Duo, now completely covered in snow, climbed back into Nightwalker's saddle. "Lively personality? You trained those animals to hate me!"

Erica looked shocked. "Duo, you know as well as I do that that's impossible. If my animals hate you, then they're just revealing their more intelligent side."

Duo started to protest but Relena cut him off. "Will you two knock it off? We have to find Heero."

Quatre became the voice of reason. "We'll go back to the estate for now and make ourselves better prepared to go searching for him tomorrow." They all nodded and headed off in the direction of the Peacecraft estate. 

&-&-&-&

Meanwhile, Heero was wandering alone through the woods, still searching for Relena. As the sky darkened, he came to the conclusion that he was hopelessly lost. No matter, he must continue on with the mission. But he would have to get some rest soon, and find warmth or else he would never find her. Up ahead, he saw an old cabin, that looked somewhat abandoned, with the poor paint job and broken shutters. He approached the cabin slowly. Opening the door, he took a small peak inside. It seemed safe enough, so he built himself a small fire, trying to warm up. 

A few minutes later, Heero heard the door being opened behind him. He pulled his gun out, waiting for whoever it was to come further inside. He heard heavy boots making their way across the wooden floor, so he turned around and aimed his gun. He was surprised to see a man that looked amazingly like Zechs. "Who are you?" Heero asked.

"Who are you and what are you doing in my house?" 

Heero smirked. "I believe I asked you first."

"Forgive me," the man said, "my name is Zech."

&-&-&-&

Wufei and Johanna were in the stables with their beloved horse Storm, a Shetland pony mare. The search party looked surprised to see them there, obviously thinking they would both be too lazy to leave the comfort of the house. "What are you two doing here?" Duo asked as they all dismounted their horses. 

"We were trying to decide which one of us should bring you back," Johanna told them, patting Storm on the nose. 

"The woman is unjust," Wufei protested. "She wants to send me out into the cold." 

"Stop your complaining. The captain sent us back," Relena said, putting Zero and Beauty back into their stalls. 

"We'll go back out tomorrow," Sam reassured her, removing Sand's tack. 

TW was trying to chew on Duo's braid as the former Gundam Pilot worked on Scythe and Nightwalker. "Erica, get your stupid dog away from me."

"Can't," she called from hayloft, "preparing to feed the horses."

She carried a bale of hay down the ladder and proceeded to feed the horses. Johanna followed her with a hose, giving the horses their water. The last stall was much larger than the rest. It had to be; it housed a large black Shire stallion named Milly. "Hi, Milly," Erica said, peering over the edge of the door. 

Milly blinked at her and Erica noticed his eyes were glazed over. "Erica, is the horse supposed to look like that?" Johanna asked.

"No," Erica replied, going to Milly's food bin, finding tiny grains in the bottom of it. "Zechs!" Everyone in the stables covered their ears then went running towards Milly's stall. 

"Erica, what's wrong?" Duo asked. 

"Zechs has been feeding the horses dried wheat! I'm going to kill him!" she stated, storming off in the direction of the house. 

"Aren't you going to stop her?" Quatre asked Relena. 

"It might be a good thing if she beats him up." There was a few moments of silence. "Let's go watch." TW bounded out the door in front of them. 

Approximately ten minutes later, Erica found Zechs swinging from a chandelier in the ballroom. "Zechs, get down here so I can kill you," she ordered. 

"Nu-uh," he replied, sticking his tongue out at her. It was times like this Erica wished she would have trained the hawk so it could fly up there and poke his eyes out. 

She pulled a knife out of her boot and held it up for him to see. "Don't make me use this." He pretended to ignore her. She sighed and threw the knife, cutting off a few strands of his hair. 

A girlish scream filled the air and the others came running into the room. "Erica, babe, are you alright?" Duo asked, clearly worried. When he saw nothing was wrong with her, they all looked confused. "If you didn't scream, who did?" She pointed to Zechs.

"Zechs," Relena asked, "where's your wife."

"The last time I saw her she was swimming with Mr. Rock." He sniffed. "She doesn't love me anymore."

They all stared at each other for a few minutes. "Swimming with Mr.Rock?" Quatre said, clearly confused as the rest of them. 

Erica let out a stream of curses that made the sailor who just happened to walk into the room at that moment blush as realization dawned on her. "TW, come on!" She ran off in the direction of the indoor swimming pool. 


End file.
